41. Burdens
She hurt.
Why she hadn't faded, she couldn't tell. She'd wanted to the moment the first Dark one touched her. Instead, she survived.
And she remembered…
NO! She heard the breath of her beloved, sitting close and chafing her hand, catch painfully. He knew her thoughts so well; in healing her, he'd have to have seen… to have known it all.
She refused to inflict her memories on him again. This was her burden. His burden, unfortunately, would be to finish the fight alone.
She'd have to sail; so when he finally came West, he'd see her whole again. Alive.
Why she hadn't faded, she couldn't tell. She'd wanted to the moment the first Dark one touched her. Instead, she survived.
And she remembered…
NO! She heard the breath of her beloved, sitting close and chafing her hand, catch painfully. He knew her thoughts so well; in healing her, he'd have to have seen… to have known it all.
She refused to inflict her memories on him again. This was her burden. His burden, unfortunately, would be to finish the fight alone.
She'd have to sail; so when he finally came West, he'd see her whole again. Alive.
This is a work of fan fiction, written because the author has an abiding love for the works of J R R Tolkien. The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Enterprises, and possibly New Line Cinema, except for certain original characters who belong to the author of the said work. The author will not receive any money or other remuneration for presenting the work on this archive site. The work is the intellectual property of the author, is available solely for the enjoyment of Henneth Annûn Story Archive readers, and may not be copied or redistributed by any means without the explicit written consent of the author.
